Jennie Geisler: All is bright when I’m in my kitchen

Jennie Geisler More Content Now

Wednesday

Nov 29, 2017 at 9:43 AMNov 29, 2017 at 9:43 AM

My mother knows a lot about a lot of things. In fact, those scientists who say they’re looking for the “theory of everything” really just need to make a pot of coffee and sit down with her for an afternoon. (Bring coffeecake.) They’ll have their answer in under an hour, but they’ll want to stay for the details. One tentacle of her theory includes what she calls “genetic memory.”

She believes wholeheartedly that I love and live to bake and cook around the holidays simply because that’s what all of the women on her side of the family have always done, all the way back to the Lappish region of Finland. It’s a form of giving and caring for loved ones wired into our brains, inspired by the life-sustaining abundance of harvest time, and then pushing back the icy fangs of (to me) unimaginable winters.

That Mom did not inherit this particular urge (she knows how to bake and cook, just chooses not to) does not in the least refute her theory. She tends to children, first my brothers and me and now the grandkids. She plays, reads, cuddles, helps them with their homework and music lessons, etc. etc. That is her urge. Apparently genetic memory sees to division of labor within families. And who am I to argue?

To make a short story longer, I believe she’s right about this, because nothing feels more right to me at this time of year than cooking and baking and giving and eating and writing about it. Repeat. The newspaper isn’t big enough to hold all the words it would take me to write about all the cooking and baking and giving I feel positively driven to do this time of year. I’ve been writing my Loaves & Dishes column for 16 years now, and a few holiday dishes have come steaming — or snugly wrapped and tucked into baskets — out of my little kitchen in that time.

The editors asked me to put together a package (yay! presents!) of my holiday favorites. It was difficult, and we ultimately wound up choosing twice as many as we planned. Some are gift-worthy, some are group dinner-worthy, some are party-worthy. Some are sweet and some are savory. All are beloved. I wish I could make them all for everyone. Happy holiday season from me — and and all my kitchen-loving ancestors.

Place the squash halves, cut side down, in the prepared dish. Pierce the skin sides several times with a fork. Bake until the squash is tender, about 45 minutes. Set aside until cool enough to handle.

Meanwhile, peel sweet potato, cut it into 1-inch chunks and place in a microwave-safe bowl. Add a splash of water and cover with plastic wrap. Microwave 8 minutes on high, or until soft.

Using a large spoon, scrape the flesh from the cooked squash into a food processor. Discard the skins. Combine with sweet potato, 1½ cups of the chicken broth, cinnamon, thyme, and nutmeg and puree until smooth. Transfer the puree to a large saucepan. Whisk the milk into the soup over medium heat. If you prefer a thinner consistency, add the remaining broth. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Ladle the soup into warmed bowls. Top each with 2 tablespoons pumpkin butter.

Thaw dough according to package directions. Grease a large baking sheet; set aside.

On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into a 12-by-10-inch rectangle. Brush with melted butter; sprinkle with cranberries, ginger and sage.

Starting from a long side, tightly roll up rectangle into a spiral. Cut into 12 1-inch slices. Place rolls on prepared baking sheet, standing rolls upright with seam sides down. Cover and let rise in a warm place until double in size, about 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350F. In a small bowl, whisk together egg and the water. Brush, rolls with egg mixture. Bake about 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Makes 12 rolls

— adapted from www.bhg.com

Note: To make ahead, prepare as directed in Step 2, except after shaping dough and covering loosely, chill in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before baking. Bake as directed in Step 3.

Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat to 350F. Line a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with foil, leaving a 2-inch overhang on the ends. Spray the foil with cooking spray.

In a food processor, finely grind ½ cup walnuts with the sugar. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt and pulse to blend. Add the butter and pulse until it’s the size of small peas, 5 or 6 1-second pulses.

Transfer 1 generous cup of the mixture to a medium bowl and set aside.

Add the egg to the mixture remaining in the food processor and pulse just until the dough begins to gather in large clumps. With your fingertips, press the dough evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan.

Using the tines of a fork, poke holes in the crust. Bake until the edges are light golden brown and center looks dry, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool the crust on a rack.

Meanwhile, knead the reserved mixture with your finger tips until it becomes clumpy. Coarsely chop the remaining walnuts and toss them into the mixture. Set aside for the topping.

In a medium saucepan, combine 2 cups of cranberries with apples, sugar, maple syrup, apple brandy or juice and salt. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved, the cranberries have popped open and the mixture is thick and syrupy, 4 to 6 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat and stir in remaining cranberries.

With a rubber spatula, scrape the cranberry mixture on to the crust and spread evenly. Sprinkle the reserved topping over the cranberry layer, pressing the topping between your fingers into small lumps as you sprinkle.

Bake until the topping is golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack until just warm, about 1 hour.

Remove from the pan using the foil overhang. Cool completely and cut into 24 bars.

Heat white chocolate, ¼ cup cream and sour cream in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until chocolate melts and ingredients are combined. Remove mixture from heat; stir in crushed candies. Occasionally whisk mixture until it cools to nearly room temperature.

Using the hand mixer, whip the remaining ¾ cup cream in a separate bowl until it forms soft peaks. Fold whipped cream into peppermint mixture in three batches to form mousse. Chill mousse for at least 2 hours.

Cook sausage in a large nonstick skillet over moderately high heat, stirring and breaking up lumps, until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Remove from the pan, but don’t clean it.

In the skillet, cook onion over moderately high heat, seasoning with salt and pepper, stirring until golden brown, about 8 minutes. Add apple and 1 tablespoon sage. Cook, stirring, until apple is softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in cider and vinegar. Simmer until liquid is almost evaporated, but mixture is not dry, about 1 minute. Transfer to a bowl; let cool to room temperature, about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350F and arrange a rack in lower third of the oven. Lightly coat a 9-inch springform pan with cooking spray.

Unfold 1 pie crust on a lightly floured surface. Using a floured rolling pin, roll out into a 13-inch round and fit into prepared pan, slightly pleating sides. Prick bottom with a fork; freeze until firm, about 15 minutes. Roll out remaining piecrust as above; cut into ½-inch-wide strips. Transfer to a cooking sheet and freeze until firm, about 15 minutes.

Lightly beat remaining egg in a small bowl; brush the bottom crust, reserving the rest of the egg for the top crust. Bake bottom crust until it’s pale golden and set, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool in pan.

Wrap outside of springform pan with foil to catch leaks. Pour filling into crust; decoratively arrange pastry strips over top to form an open basket weave. Trim ends flush with edge of bottom crust and brush strips with remaining beaten egg.

Bake pie in baking pan in lower third of oven until top is golden brown and filling is set, about 35 minutes. Remove pie from baking pan; cool on rack 20 minutes. Garnish with whole sage leaves.